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Round
of 3: Judges' ChoiceMay 18

We have 2 performance shows left, it's time for the contestants to sing two
songs in the Round of 3. The judges get to select which song the contestants
croon, and if it's been anything like the last 12 weeks, I'll be bored. And
I brought Jason Block and Chico Alexander to be bored with me.

And we start withCasey
Jamesand
'Ok, it's Alright With Me' (by Eric Hutchinson), a nice country song, which
I think is needed by the country crooner.The Good- He's got the
guitar. He's got the nice thread, and he's grooving a song in his
wheelhouse.The Bad- And he's got a
pitch flatter than his tire if it went over a bed of nails. And why are you
selecting the sort of song that 1. is utterly safe with no vocal range and
2. which most of America hasn't heard of?The Jason- The judges
were spot on here. Bad song choice, because it wasn't memorable and the
performance was boring and vanilla. He HAS to bring it after song 2, or else
he is gone.The Chico- He sounded
good... So what. You're not emoting. It's time for you to sell your spot in
the final, and you're just standing there with a guitar. And he doesn't
stand out as a standout performer. It's just so-so, and you don't want to
half-ass a song that people haven't heard before.The Verdict- It's really
safe, which would be good 2 months ago, but not now when there's only 3
people left.

That opens the door for a Lee/Crystal finale, if they can both provide us
with the goods.Crystal
Bowersoxgoes
first, and she chooses Melissa Etheridge's 'Come To My Window.'The Good- Finally a good
song choice and performance, complete with technically sound vocal and
emotional delivery. About time. She put it all together...The Bad- Well sort of.
The spacing going into the end chorus is all wrong, the harmonica seemed to
be just thrown in for weird instrument effect, and for a dress style, it
looks less like a professional performance and more like she's going to
Melissa Etheredge's swimming pool party.The Jason- One of my
favorite songs from one of my favorite artists. She did it justice. And
Simon was right. While the arrangement wasn't the best, this song was an
excellent definition of who and what she is.The Chico- Perfect song
choice for Crystal. Perfectly sung. Perfect with the harmonica to start...
She's playing to win for once. It's not as strong as Melissa's original, but
it's a song in her wheelhouse, and that's going to gel with her base.The Verdict- It's fine,
but this is something that we'd be expecting in the round of 10 (or 9, or 8)
and not now. That being said, based on what we have this season, it's
acceptable.

Lee DeWyzeos
up next, and he chooses 'Simple Man' by Lynyrd Skynyrd. It's a simple song,
but can he execute it in a complex manner?The Good- Easily sang it
with more emotion than Casey or Crystal. He emoted the notes, which is the
first time I actually saw emotion that conveyed through the tv set from any
of the contestants. He even nailed the high notes, which says a lot.The Bad- Like Casey, I
wasn't a fan of his song selection. He could have rocked out on something
more popular for the fan base. And the last note had his pitch fade out on
him. Yuck.The Jason- This was
another song that defined him as who he is, but the vocals here were awful.
He was all over the place. The judges are all over him with love. I just
don't see it.The Chico- I've seen this
covered by Shinedown with gusto and fervor. Lee could have poured a little
more soul, a little more grit into this performance, but it's okay. It's a
good song choice. Round 1 to Lee in a walk. And before we continue, can we
put the "We Love You" girls on a muzzle? It's getting kind of old.The Verdict- From a
performance standpoint, the best singer of the three for the first round. He
put in a complete performance on that stage.

Round 2 time, and it's the judges call for the contestants. Keep in mind
that they better not hear 'bad song selection', since the contestants have
no choice. Of course, I'm guessing the judges wishes they had this much
control much, much earlier in the competition.

Once again,Casey Jamesgoes
first. Randy and Kara select 'Daughters' by John Mayer. The judges want him
to show his vulnerable side to women and girls, his voting base. I'm
guessing that they don't want to know the rumor that he's gay, based on
someone's Facebook picture of him in a compromising position with a guy, but
I digress...The Good- This is the
second time that I've seen an emoter. He did a really nice job with the
emotion and the pitch.The Bad- But not the
tremolo, which made him sound like a goat prancing on a treadmill.The Jason- Sorry, he just
sang himself out the finals. The song puts me to sleep, and his vocals did
as well.The Chico- I think he
shows his vulnerable side, but not in a good way. He's all over the place
with the pitch until the bridge. And it just comes off as John Mayer with
long hair. Casey took a Grammy-award-winning song... and the only thing he
did was add a guitar solo that John could've written. It sounded better than
his first job, but is it a winner?The Verdict- No. That
being said, where the heck has this been for the past 4 months? This is far
and away his best performance of the season. If he did this from Day #1, he
would be a favorite instead of most likely to leave tonight.

Ellen Degeneres gets to select the song forCrystal
Bowersox.The
song is 'Maybe I'm Amazed' by Paul McCartney. Can she put on an amazing
performance?The Good- Hey, it's 3
emoters! It is a very good choice of song from Ellen. Crystal worked outside
of her comfort zone and her range. Crystal owes Ellen a big Thank You.The Bad- The beginning
was flat and shaky. It was almost like she knew what was coming up and had
to start inflating the vocal esophagus before releasing the air.The Jason- One Ticket was
punched right there. Great choice by Ellen and Crystal just killed it.The Chico- Ellen wanted
to trip Crystal up. Does she? A little. She sounded a mite sharp to start.
Other than that, Crystal is finally challenged to be great, and she meets
the challenge.The Verdict- Where the
heck has this been for the past 4 months? This is far and away her best
performance of the season. Maybe the judges need to select the songs for the
contestants from day #1.

Finally, we haveLee
DeWyze,who
gets Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujiah'. Now Tim Urban sang this before, but I'm
guessing Lee will be doing a lot better than what Tim did. At least, that's
what we hope.The Good- Make it 4
emoters. Out of 3 people. Once again, I ask, where in the world has this
been the past 2 and a half months? This is the best I've ever heard Lee.The Bad- Then again, if
Tim had the background singers and arrangement that Lee had, then Tim would
have a moment. instead, he's probably pissed off and is ready to throw a
shoe at his TV set.The Jason- I hated the
arrangement, I hated the vocals, I hate this song being overused here. That
being said, this was this year's "Heartless" (remember Kris Allen). This
wasn't a moment for me, but for the sheep who vote for him it was.The Chico- Simon thinks
that this could be the moment... Houston, we have a moment.The Verdict- Where the
heck has this been for the past 4 months? This is far and away his best
performance of the season. Maybe the judges do need to have song control. Oh
yeah, we have that already, It's called The X-Factor. Hmmm...

Overall Verdict:Best show
of the season. Of course, this was a little late, and because of that, I
think someone also bloomed out a little too late. And I did predict from Day
1 that Lee DeWyze would be in the finals, which means that for him to be
there, this guy can't be.

OUT: CASEY JAMES

The Jason:Plain and
Simple...Crystal and Lee are in.

OUT: Casey James

The Chico:This was the
show that should've happened 9 shows ago. The two final spots are Lee and
Crystal's to lose. And apparently, this comes 9 shows too late for...OUT: Casey James
Join us in 24 hours to see who will not be singing something schmaltzy in
the finale.